WOODS CROSS – Deer hunting season for antlerless and pronghorn deer will end on Dec. 31, but the health and population of the deer will be watched as the winter months continue.

Most biologists for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources have been sent out to monitor Utah’s deer herds until the winter season ends.

While they are there to keep track of the deer, they may also be required to feed them if conditions get too bad for the deer’s habitat.

Justin Shannon, big game coordinator for DWR, said in a press release sent to the Clipper that biologists keep a constant watch on five critical things during the winter months: the condition of the deer as they enter the season, the amount of food available, the depth of the snow, the temperature and the amount of body fat found on deer that have been killed along roads.

At least two of those criteria must have certain conditions met, otherwise the biologists feed the deer themselves.

If fed by a biologist, the deer are given food pellets formulated to fit their digestive system.

Shannon warns; however, that feeding the deer on your own can have dire consequences for the deer itself.

“They have complex and delicate digestive systems,” he said. “If they’re given the wrong types of food, they could die with their stomachs full.”